Leader comment: The really special relationship between Scotland and America

The Scotsman yesterday recalled the Trainspotting rant about how “s****” it was to be Scottish. But today comes news suggesting it is, actually, pretty cool. Apparently, one of the main reasons that Americans visit this country is a search for romance, myth and legend.

The TV show Outlander – in which an English woman from the 1940s is magically transported back in time to Jacobean Scotland where she falls in love with Highlander Jamie Fraser – has had a big impact. Our friends from over the pond view people who live in Scotland as “friendly, warm and hospitable” and we “really enhance” their holiday experience. They also come expecting to be blown away by the beauty of the Highlands with its wild, unspoiled mountains and lochs.

Any Americans expecting to be blown away by the beauty of our men may be disappointed to discover they don’t all look like Outlander actor Sam Heughan. And, in the Age of Trump, Scots may find the philosphical differences too much to bear for the entirity of a dinner date. But, despite that, the ongoing love affair between Scotland and America looks set to continue.